Seriously, this film is sweet and funny and all the rest but Ryan Gosling is the hottest I have ever seen him. As Emma Stone quite rightly says "F***!! It's like you've been photoshopped!"
Right, on to actually reviewing the film and not Goslings physique.
As I said it is sweet and funny in equal measure, but also quite sad. The film focuses on the breakdown of a marriage and subsequent effect on the different family members. The marriage in question is between Steve Carell and Julianne Moore, with Ryan Gosling as the ladies man guru who takes Carell under his wing, and Kevin Bacon as the 'other man'.
For those familiar with Carell's back catalogue you will know he is a versatile actor, able to do the more serious roles (Little Miss Sunshine) and the most bizarre characters (Anchorman). His role as Cal Weaver in this movie is more reminiscent of Dan In Real Life, another sweet and funny film, where he gets to play it straight and downtrodden. What you notice first off, like with the film Last Night, is the lack of effort made by Carell for dinner in his appearance...actually not just for dinner, in the everyday too. But then you notice the lack of effort when his wife says she wants a divorce, that she has slept with another man. The most dramatic thing he does is roll out of a moving car just to avoid the conversation his wife is trying to have with him.
Cue Ryan Gosling, noticing Carell whining night after night about his broken marriage he takes it upon himself to redress the situation, quite literally. Carell transforms from a man who should never dress himself to a sharply suited and booted gentleman able to bag the ladies quite as well as his younger mentor.
This film is not entirely focused on the two gentleman and their conquests, surrounding their story is the young would be lawyer Hannah (Emma Stone) who thinks she is happy with her current kinda dweeby guy played by Josh Grobin (hugely talented singer and very funny guy), and has been hit on by Gosling and intrigued him. Anyone who reads my reviews probably knows by now how obsessed I am with Emma Stone, I just think she is such a great actress, and am supremely jealous she got to spend so much quality time with Goslings abs in this movie.
Also in the mix of characters are Julianne Moore, Carells' wife, who is dealing with the consequences of her choices, and also a keen Kevin Bacon who wants to begin a relationship with her.
Then there is the lovestruck 13 year old son of Carell and Moore, Robbie, who has fallen for the 17 year old babysitter, who is herself in lust with Carell.
All of these stories make up the criteria for love being crazy and stupid. And I enjoyed all of the dimensions of the story, I genuinely laughed out loud frequently, cringed too, but most importantly did not hate any character or facet of the story which is what films like these can often suffer from.
The film benefitted from being written by Dan Fogleman, the man responsible for Disney’s Cars and Tangled, who looked at the situation with a fresh pair of eyes. Though he does adhere to convention in some places, there is a refreshing end to the film, and it’s the kind I really respond to in a movie, when everything is not tied up in a neat happily ever after package. I guess this is where Fogleman was able to steer away from Disney and inject reality into his script, though obviously keeping as much as possible in the happy camp.
The directors, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, handled the story and cast well, having been previously responsible for I Love You Phillip Morris (starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor) I knew the film would not be sappy and the comedy would not be forced, though there is the pre-requisite farcical fight toward the end but this was one of the moments I laughed the hardest I think.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film, the acting I cannot complain about, the story I really enjoyed and felt was almost true to life, and it delivered surprises that I was not expecting. If you have seen and enjoyed films such as Dan In Real Life or The Kids Are Alright you will not be disappointed by Crazy.Stupid.Love.
Monday 19 December 2011
Sunday 18 December 2011
Last Night: what happens when couples fail in communication
I was recommended to watch this film by a friend, who refused to give me her own opinion on it lest I be swayed or, more likely, in case I hated it and then felt afraid to write this or say what I thought...
I'm still not sure how much I liked this film, its serious and intense, really intense. Reminds me of Closer, where you slightly question your own views and morals, and become absorbed in the relationships.
In synopsis then, we have the central characters Jo and Michael, played by Keira Knightley and Sam Worthington. They seem typical, Jo gets ready for a staff party of her husbands in under a minute, no thought or care to how she looks or what she is wearing, so the two are obviously comfortable enough for her not to dress up. Then at said party Jo notices a woman, Eva Mendes, a colleague of Michael's who is obviously a very attractive woman, and attracted to her husband. A fight at home ensues, with Michael being forced to admit he does feel attracted toward his co-worker, with whom he is going on a business trip the next day.
Michael goes to to Philadelphia and has to come to terms with his feelings, while at home his wife meets an old flame on the street and spends time with him, now having to face her own unanswered questions and emotions.
I won't spoil the end, but suffice to say I felt it was an honest portrait of what could happen. While looking it up I came across a review which gave the film one star because they felt the end had destroyed a perfectly good film. I am inclined to disagree. It is the end which makes the previous hour and a half that much more believable, because you do not know what is going to happen. Rather like the end of Love and Other Drugs as much as you want to know what happens next, there is a reason fairytales end with "and they lived happily ever after", because the truth is you don't need to know. Neither Last Night or Love and Other Drugs could possibly have a 'happily ever after' in the true fairytale sense of an easy life with no worries, but a director is wise to cut the film off at a certain point so the audience can create their own ending.
The acting I felt was superb, and it is nice to hear Knightley and Worthington's own accents. Set in New York it is entirely feasible for an English woman and Australian man to be living and working in the city, especially when one is a writer. It is also believable that a Parisian in the form of Guillaume Canet would be in town, as a writer himself, and come to see his former love once more.
I am slightly in love with monsieur Canet, he is a jewel in French acting and directing, and his partner is Marion Cotillard who I think is probably one of the most beautiful people ever and a fantastic actress. A very talented pair. Canet's weight in French cinema is such that I knew his role at least would not be generic or the film flimsy. His and Knightley's relationship is kind of beautiful, and I found myself entirely torn about what I wanted to happen. They have passion and friendship for each other, and I smiled when they smiled.
Worthington and Mendes relationship provoked the opposite reaction in me. I was willing the husband to not become a cliche and hating Mendes for being provocative. Entirely irrational, why should I support the wife and her indiscretion and not the husband? Neither have been honest with each other, or to themselves, and you feel certain situations would not come up had they just communicated with one another. Had Jo told Michael about Alex and her time with him in Paris perhaps she would have held on less to her feelings for the Frenchman, and had Michael been open with Jo about the attractiveness of his co-worker she would have been prepared at the party and he could have dealt with his feelings instead of bottling them.
It is a well written and carefully directed film, a true drama. I think it is quite hard to find good drama not on stage, where you can become swept up in the emotion without feeling like it is being thrown at you. And that was how I felt while watchin Last Night, I became engrossed, all of my senses focused on the screen. It could make a good play.
It isn't a film I would watch again, but I enjoyed it, as much as you can enjoy seeing lives fray in front of you. The performances were all believable, and the stories too, because people lie, they conceal their pasts, and nobody is entirely honest with anybody, except perhaps their psychiatrists. It is a cautionary tale, be honest with yourself and your partner, or there will be consequences you may not want to deal with.
I'm still not sure how much I liked this film, its serious and intense, really intense. Reminds me of Closer, where you slightly question your own views and morals, and become absorbed in the relationships.
In synopsis then, we have the central characters Jo and Michael, played by Keira Knightley and Sam Worthington. They seem typical, Jo gets ready for a staff party of her husbands in under a minute, no thought or care to how she looks or what she is wearing, so the two are obviously comfortable enough for her not to dress up. Then at said party Jo notices a woman, Eva Mendes, a colleague of Michael's who is obviously a very attractive woman, and attracted to her husband. A fight at home ensues, with Michael being forced to admit he does feel attracted toward his co-worker, with whom he is going on a business trip the next day.
Michael goes to to Philadelphia and has to come to terms with his feelings, while at home his wife meets an old flame on the street and spends time with him, now having to face her own unanswered questions and emotions.
I won't spoil the end, but suffice to say I felt it was an honest portrait of what could happen. While looking it up I came across a review which gave the film one star because they felt the end had destroyed a perfectly good film. I am inclined to disagree. It is the end which makes the previous hour and a half that much more believable, because you do not know what is going to happen. Rather like the end of Love and Other Drugs as much as you want to know what happens next, there is a reason fairytales end with "and they lived happily ever after", because the truth is you don't need to know. Neither Last Night or Love and Other Drugs could possibly have a 'happily ever after' in the true fairytale sense of an easy life with no worries, but a director is wise to cut the film off at a certain point so the audience can create their own ending.
The acting I felt was superb, and it is nice to hear Knightley and Worthington's own accents. Set in New York it is entirely feasible for an English woman and Australian man to be living and working in the city, especially when one is a writer. It is also believable that a Parisian in the form of Guillaume Canet would be in town, as a writer himself, and come to see his former love once more.
I am slightly in love with monsieur Canet, he is a jewel in French acting and directing, and his partner is Marion Cotillard who I think is probably one of the most beautiful people ever and a fantastic actress. A very talented pair. Canet's weight in French cinema is such that I knew his role at least would not be generic or the film flimsy. His and Knightley's relationship is kind of beautiful, and I found myself entirely torn about what I wanted to happen. They have passion and friendship for each other, and I smiled when they smiled.
Worthington and Mendes relationship provoked the opposite reaction in me. I was willing the husband to not become a cliche and hating Mendes for being provocative. Entirely irrational, why should I support the wife and her indiscretion and not the husband? Neither have been honest with each other, or to themselves, and you feel certain situations would not come up had they just communicated with one another. Had Jo told Michael about Alex and her time with him in Paris perhaps she would have held on less to her feelings for the Frenchman, and had Michael been open with Jo about the attractiveness of his co-worker she would have been prepared at the party and he could have dealt with his feelings instead of bottling them.
It is a well written and carefully directed film, a true drama. I think it is quite hard to find good drama not on stage, where you can become swept up in the emotion without feeling like it is being thrown at you. And that was how I felt while watchin Last Night, I became engrossed, all of my senses focused on the screen. It could make a good play.
It isn't a film I would watch again, but I enjoyed it, as much as you can enjoy seeing lives fray in front of you. The performances were all believable, and the stories too, because people lie, they conceal their pasts, and nobody is entirely honest with anybody, except perhaps their psychiatrists. It is a cautionary tale, be honest with yourself and your partner, or there will be consequences you may not want to deal with.
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